How distorted is the Media Research Center’s obsession with political labels?
A July 5 entry on the MRC-run Times Watch (“Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Political Agenda of the New York Times”) offers one answer. In it, Times Watch director Clay Waters takes the Times to task for using the word “conservative” in a story about … conservatives:
Sunday’s lead story involves the new Supreme Court vacancy left by the surprise retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. “Conservative Groups Rally Against Gonzales as Justice,” by Adam Nagourney, Todd Purdum and David Kirkpatrick spins into a labeling frenzy, with 23 instances of the term “conservative” (not including two in headlines) in the 1,900-word story.
Well, God forbid that the Times use the word “conservative” when it does a story about the conservative reaction to something. Does Waters have an alternative he’d like to offer?
Meanwhile, the MRC-run CNSNews.com has its own problems with labeling advocacy groups; conservatives get positive names, while liberals get non-flattering ones.